Fascination Mercedes G-Class
Around the world on all fours
Mercedes G class 350 d
© press-inform – the press office
It’s more than four decades old and still makes powerful headlines. Despite the ongoing chip crisis, more than 41,000 G-Classes were manufactured last year – more than ever before. And then there is an order freeze for some countries. Bulging order books ensure a delivery time of more than two years and the electric version is slowly rolling in.
The other premium manufacturers would also like to have such an icon. Because people from Munich, Ingolstadt and even from Zuffenhausen do not look enviously at Untertürkheim or Sindelfingen, but at Graz, where the Mercedes G-Class has been manufactured at Magna Steyr since 1979 – meanwhile well over 400,000 times. After some minor and major facelifts, now in the second real generation and with a view to the first electric model, because it has long been confirmed that the angular G-Class should not only be expanded into its own sub-brand, but also an electric variant and thus an EQG variant, the study of which could be admired at the IAA 2021 last autumn. Mercedes Group CEO Ola Källenius: “We will electrify the G-Class and significantly improve the CO2 balance of the powertrain with a model upgrade.”
Mercedes has a whole range of classics with a long history. But in the mid-1970s, no one would have expected that the former commercial vehicle off the beaten track would one day become such a successful model. The commercial vehicle department at Daimler developed the off-road vehicle in the mid-1970s together with Steyr-Daimler-Puch for use in the army and forestry. Series production was decided in 1975 and the first major customer was already certain: the Shah of Persia, then a major shareholder of Daimler-Benz, ordered 20,000 vehicles from the start. However, the revolution in Iran puts a painful spanner in the works, but there are orders from the police and federal border guards as well as the armies from Argentina and Switzerland. The first vehicles are built in 1979, largely by hand, as is still the case today at the Graz plant. Almost nothing has changed in its bodywork for more than three decades. The man behind the G-Class is Erwin Wonisch, Head of Development, who has since died and who, together with his colleagues, gave the squared timber its unique character.
The Mercedes G-Class still stands there like an insurmountable massif. There have been no aerodynamic refinements or major facelifts in more than four decades. The climbing artist shows his true qualities especially in rough terrain. It comes easily over pieces as well as stones of the most lavish size and inspires more with every meter, even in the toughest off-road use. Instead of leaf springs, the car has a corresponding screw construction as well as trailing and wishbones on its rigid axles. Basic price in 1979: 32,600 German marks, hardly less than the basic model of the Mercedes S-Class of the W116 type at the time. The Mercedes, which weighs more than 2.5 tons, has always been produced at Magna Steyr in Graz, Austria.
It was not until 22 years after its start of production, in 2001, that the all-wheel drive icon in the USA entered what was then the most important car market in the world. With tremendous success, because the years 2002 and 2003 were immediately the most successful in G history. Especially with celebrities, the dinosaur, mostly in the colors black, white or silver, becomes a cult object that they had to wait too long for. One of the first well-known G-Class fans back then was Pope John Paul II, who had been driving a gleaming white G-Class as the “Papamobil” in the fleet since 1980. Meanwhile, globetrotter Gunther Holtorf has had his very own experiences with the Mercedes G-Class. From 1988 the blue GD 300 with the name Otto, which had faded over the years, traveled the world before ending up in the Mercedes Museum after more than 800,000 kilometers. A look at the world map of the bustling Holtorfs shows: there are no larger gaps here. The blue 300 GD with the 88 hp diesel could not be broken and has traveled almost all over the world. “So far I’ve never broken down,” says Holtorf, “only wearing parts such as brakes, tires or shock absorbers have been replaced.”
The history of the G-Class began four decades ago with sparse equipment and a comparatively modest range of engines. The diesel and petrol variants once made between 72 and 150 hp. Over the years, the palette developed into completely different dimensions. High-torque common-rail diesels found their way under the attached bonnet, as did powerful AMG engines, which made the G-Class a unique powerhouse. A look at the sales statistics shows that no Mercedes model has a higher proportion of AMG versions, which is sometimes well over 50 percent. The German Bundeswehr is not the only army that has had the Mercedes G-Class with the downright cute name “Wolf” in its inventory for decades. In addition, it is heavily armored and deployed in numerous crisis regions around the world. Even the US Army had bought a few heavily armored G-models years ago in order to use them to bring special forces into impenetrable regions of the world. The G-Reaction Force for special operations was stationed on two aircraft carriers. The bodyguards of Russian President Putin drive heavily armored Mercedes G 500s, as do security personnel from governments around the world. In the autumn of its production period, a three-axle version of the Mercedes G was developed for the Australian army and it didn’t stop at army use. Derived from these models, the spectacular Mercedes AMG G 6×6 was developed, which became Sheikhs’ favorite playmobil overnight.
When the Mercedes G 63 AMG 6×6 whips up dune crests with its 544 hp and 760 Nm, even proven off-road bunnies catch their breath. Gigantic portal axles (power distribution 30-40-30) and 37-inch off-road tires seem to pulverize the limits of physics up to 160 km/h. Instead of the normal 21 centimeters of ground clearance, the 6×6 version offers 46 centimeters of clearance to the ground. The mudflat depth: one meter. Models like the Mercedes G 500 4×42 are no less spectacular. Thanks to 45 centimeters of ground clearance, one meter wading depth, portal axles and the well-known lock package, kilometers of water crossings and trips through the jungle are never a problem again. The double-charged four-liter V8 from the AMG GT delivered 422 hp and 610 Nm and impressed with the 30 centimeters wider track and a second 22-inch racing wheel set. Even more spectacular is the Maybach Landaulet with unlimited comfort and the unique desert design. The wheelbase of the normal G-Class has been extended by 60 centimetres, the ground clearance has been increased to almost half with portal axles and the track has been widened by a mighty 25 centimetres. Climbing up into the open-air saloon via electrically extendable running boards, one is missing the superlatives with the complete Maybach interior with luxury armchairs. The magic continues under the bonnet: the AMG engine generates 630 hp from a displacement of six liters and an enormous torque of 1,000 Nm.
In the course of its more than 30 years of production, the G has seen a lot; won countless titles and championships, even the Paris-Dakar Rally in 1985. A year earlier, it took second place – as the support vehicle for the winning Porsche team. A high-performance engine from the Porsche 928 worked under the bonnet – today it can be admired in the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. Thanks to its indestructible construction, off-road reduction and three 100 percent locks, you can go anywhere with the Mercedes G-Class. 54 degree incline, 80 percent incline and now state-of-the-art technology with ESP, brake assistant, various airbags and luxury equipment. In the first models, the differential locks were still operated with pull levers in the cockpit, but for many years this has all been done at the push of a button.
In 2018, the star squared timber of the W 463 series was replaced by a successor that also bears the name G-Class and also the series designation 463. Apart from the rustic door handles, no part has remained the same. The biggest difference is the increase in width, which was about twelve centimeters powerful. With an overall length of 4.82 meters and a wheelbase of 2.89 meters, it was five centimeters longer. The next big step is electrification, because in 2023 the G-Class will be electric. In addition to the well-known six and eight-cylinder combustion engines, many fans are already looking forward to a Mercedes EQG. Others – especially the real off-road fans – instead fear the demise of the West. But first everyone gets their money’s worth. Electric fans can look forward to a new star and old fans will get their money’s worth with models such as the AMG 63, 500, 350d or 400d – and soon you should be able to order again.